I personally would just let it sit and cool for a few minutes and relight and continue (if it's cooled down of course). I wouldn't empty the bowl because of the drastic temp change of the cooler air entering the chamber might just crack it depending how hot it was. Just letting cool down and then slowing down ones cadence should do the trick. Letting a pipe consistently get too hot to hold can lend to a burn out or even cracking the bowl.Smoke slow and enjoy, patience is truly a virtue and your tobacco will taste better too.

Here's the thing: I make a rule of smoking VERY slowly, stretching out most of my bowls, mostly medium sized ,to an hour long, off of one light (after the initial charge). I sip my smoke, I am not a puffer. Maybe I puff to get a "dead" pipe going again so I don't have to re-light, but that's the exception. I am a tamper, and judiciously use this instrument all the way down the bowl. I notice bowls getting hot mostly, if not exclusively, with ribbon tobacco, which admittedly make up only about 20 - 25% of my tobaccos.

It usually happens in the bottom half, in fact, right after the halfway point. I often wonder if it's because I try to pack too much tobacco into the pipe to get the most smoking time. With my flakes, this is never a problem, or if it is, very rarely. (overheating, that is).

In writing this I come upon another question, that regarding ash. When smoking a tall bowl, like a poker or tall billiard, should you dump some of the top ash? Usually I don't and just ride it out, but I've noticed lately that with some new TALL, SKINNY bowls (Eltang poker, for instance) I've acquired it seems like there gets to be too much ash build-up with some tobaccos to allow the embers underneath to keep smoldering at a steady, controllable rate.

I appreciate all the help in resolving this vexing problem that pops up every once in awhile, seemingly when I am not altering my normal smoking routine at all when I get a nice, long cool smoke.

I sometimes get this myself, and I'm constantly reminding myself to sip slowly.

If one uses the 3-step method to loading the pipe (as I often do, depending), then the bottom third will be packed the loosest. So when you get to that point the combustion rate will be higher than the top 2/3, thus creating more heat.

And careful tamping along the way when needed must certainly compress the lower layers, compacting the loosest bottom third. Perhaps not always the case. At least that's the way I look at it.

Other factors such as thickness of bowl wall come into play here. I don't have too many pipes with thinner walls, but when I do smoke one of them I'm even more mindful of cadence as they can heat up quickly.

Whenever it gets to the point that it becomes uncomfortable to hold I just put it down and let cool down before re-applying the match. Have yet to ever have a burnout.

Learned the hard way. I had an old GBD that had a "weak spot" / pit and I overheated the bowl while smoking outside. The pipe cracked as it was hanging out of my mouth. Since the pipe was stained black, it was hard to see the flaw. I might have noticed a discoloration at the "hot spot" and I probably would have smoked the pipe less and not as hot. I have noticed other pipes that friends have owned that have a telltale discoloration where the "hot spot" is.......